


Civil Blood

by thestairwell



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emotional Abuse, M/M, Off-screen Character Death, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-29
Updated: 2013-07-29
Packaged: 2017-12-21 07:58:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/897849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestairwell/pseuds/thestairwell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine’s only purpose is to infiltrate Chief Hummel’s house so he can kill the family and his adoptive mother can take over the village. He didn’t plan on the mayor’s son being quite so interesting, or compassionate. Based on The Lion King 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. He Lives In You (or, Prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally started way back near the original conception of Klaine AU Fridays. I can't remember exactly which week this was for (animated, maybe?) but basically, I couldn't get out my head the image of ND singing _Not One Of Us_ to Blaine ~~and if you say you didn't have a crush on Kovu as a kid (or any age really) I call you a dirty, rotten liar because _everyone did_ and because _James Marsden_~~ and couldn't make it into a vid and then my brain insisted on backstory. So, without (much) further ado, here is _The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride_ , if the lions were human and the African desert were a pseudo-European forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally started way back near the original conception of Klaine AU Fridays. I can't remember exactly which week this was for (animated, maybe?) but basically, I couldn't get out my head the image of ND singing _Not One Of Us_ to Blaine ~~and if you say you didn't have a crush on Kovu as a kid (or any age really) I call you a dirty, rotten liar because _everyone did_ and because _James Marsden_~~ and couldn't make it into a vid and then my brain insisted on backstory. So, without (much) further ado, here is _The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride_ , if the lions were human and the African desert were a pseudo-European forest.

In a time long past, there was a large village (or a small town, depending on who you asked, though most people agreed it was, in fact, a large village) named Pride Rock after the large boulder in the main square. It was three days' journey to the nearest sign of civilisation, though the surrounding area was so fertile that it rarely mattered. The villagers were quite content with their lifestyle, and they knew that problems would be quickly and justly taken care of by whichever member of the Hummel family who was the practising chief.

However, there was one family who wanted power. Recent generations of the Sylvester family had become jealous and greedy and restless of always being second-in-command to the Hummels and so, thirty-six years prior to the beginning of our story, they staged a _coup d'etat_. They killed Marcus and Alison Hummel, but the attempt on nine-year-old Burt Hummel's life was intercepted by the newcomers of the village, Thomas Puckerman, a recently married young man, and Olivia Beiste, a single mother of a daughter named Shannon.

The entire Sylvester family was exiled from the village, and sent with them were all their supporters and accomplices. With nowhere to go, they were forced to build a hamlet on the other side of the river; it was barely half a day's walk away, yet the ground was hard and cracked, and the people struggled.

For the next eleven years, Emma Pillsbury, Burt's guardian, was acting chief of Pride Rock and taught Burt how to look after the people who remained. He took over when he was eighteen, and within ten years he was as beloved as his father had been and had his own child on the way. When Kurt was born, the village rejoiced, and he grew up loved, if sheltered.

By this time, the only surviving Sylvester, a woman named Sue, had become bitter from growing up in the harsh conditions of the other side of the river. Her parents had died some time ago (well, her father had died; she'd killed her mother when it became clear that no one would listen to her as long as the older Sylvester woman was still alive) and Sue was determined to get revenge on the Hummels, and all the villagers who had sided with him. When she heard of Kurt's birth, a plan formed in her mind. She poisoned the parents of an infant called Blaine Anderson and adopted him (and, reluctantly, his older brother, an insufferable ten-year-old named Cooper) as a Sylvester. She showed him nothing of the good of the world, yet she was never quite able to blacken the gold of his heart.

And so, now that you have been caught up, our story shall begin.


	2. We Are One (or, The Innocence of Children)

Kurt is well aware that there is a world beyond the boundaries of the village. He sneaks up to the attic and climbs out of the skylight and onto the roof every day after supper, looking past the houses and the fields to the forest. The river is just beyond the edge of the trees, and Noah (" _Puck_ , Kurt, my name is _Puck_ now") loves it there. He says the water doesn't flow very fast until farther downstream where the trees get thicker, and it's so clear he can see the bottom, and it looks shallow but it goes up past his knees. He says it's the best place to be during the summer because the water's so cool, but Kurt probably wouldn't like it because of all the mud.

But Noah never comes back dirty. Kurt thinks it's another lie to discourage him from leaving the village.

"Porcelain!" a voice calls, and Kurt puts a glare on his face as he turns to look at Lauren Zizes. His father had given him a pretty porcelain doll for his tenth birthday (she'd said he was a big boy now, old enough to look after something so fragile) and ever since, Lauren hasn't used his real name. And he hates his nickname.

"What?" he asks sullenly.

"Your dad's been looking everywhere for you! You should know better than to run off like that!"

"I went for a walk to the bakery – I could see home the entire time!" he protests, struggling as Lauren holds his arm and drags him back home. She tightens his grip when he almost slips away and he yelps.

"Do you have any idea how worried he was?" she asks, though she doesn't expect an answer. Kurt kind of hates her a little for kissing up to his dad so much; she can't wait to take over for her dad as Chief Advisor. Kurt already knows he's going to fire her as soon as he becomes Chief. "If the old man weren't bald already, he'd be tearing out his hair with worry."

Kurt refuses to feel guilty. It's not fair that he can't even go for a walk without Noah and their caretaker Shannon breathing down his neck at his father's orders, and it's not his fault his dad's so overprotective that he can't go somewhere by himself without having a heart attack.

He does still feel a little guilty, though, when he sees how Burt's shoulders slump with relief as Lauren drags him through the door.

"Why would you go off like that without telling anyone?" he demands. Kurt folds his arms in front of his chest and pouts up angrily.

"Noah's allowed out on his own all the time!"

"You know the rules, kid—"

"I hate the rules!" Kurt shouts, and to his horror, tears are pooling in his eyes. "I never have any fun! Noah and Shannon are my only real friends, but they don't count because Noah plays with the other kids and Shannon's old like you! I want to play games with Finn and Mercedes and whoever else it is Noah always talks about, and explore in the forest, and go down to the river and pretend to catch fish, and—"

"Kurt!" Burt interrupts. Kurt's mouth snaps shut and he tilts his chin defiantly, but then he takes in his dad's expression: hurt, and so, so sad. "I'm sorry, kid," he says. He rubs a hand over his face and Kurt looks on curiously. "I didn't know you felt like that. I guess . . ." He sighs. "If you take Shannon with you, you can go down to the river next time the other kids do."

Kurt squeals and throws himself at his dad to hug him tightly. Burt chuckles and pats him on the back, and Kurt ignores the worry in his eyes.

Through Noah, all the other children in the village find out that Kurt will go with them, and they (well, their parents) organise with Shannon a trip for the next day. Noah tells Kurt to wear clothes he won't mind getting wet or dirty. Kurt doesn't actually have clothes like that, so he wears his simplest, least favourite trousers and shirt. All his shoes are good quality so he decides he'll take them off before he goes in the water, and Shannon can look after a towel for him to dry his feet off before he puts them back on.

He's bouncing for the entire walk, chatting excitedly with the other children. He tells Mercedes he likes her necklace and lets Sam give him a piggy back while he runs and spins around, even though it makes the world spin. It's even better when they get to the river. It's everything Noah said it was (including, Kurt notices with distaste, the mud) and Kurt can't remember the last time he felt as happy as when the others teach him group games they can play and how to swim (or at least float, because when Kurt tries to swim he mostly just splashes around in the water). Some of the kids are really shy around him, but Kurt guesses it's because they don't really know him past his family name. And he pretends he doesn't notice everyone being gentle or bypassing him when they play rougher games.

When the sun is at its high point in the sky, everyone gets out the water to eat. Usually, a very loud girl called Rachel says, they go back to the village and then play in the square, but Shannon had offered to carry a basket with lots of food in it so they can stay by the water for longer.

They're all more relaxed when they've eaten their fill. Some of them go back in the water to cool down a bit, Kurt included. He loves floating on his back, feeling where the water laps at his skin and how the sun burns on his skin, and how all the sounds get muffled because his ears are underwater. He drifts contentedly, only cracking an eye when there's lots of noise. Noah's laughing like he does when he's done something naughty, and some of the girls are screaming or crying, and Shannon's shouting at Noah. Kurt closes his eye again and goes back to drifting.

He lethargically opens his eyes and stands up when the sunlight suddenly dims. For a moment, he blinks confused, wondering why the water is almost up to his shoulders and tugging him more forcefully than before, so forcefully he staggers with it, and then he realises it's because _he's floated downstream_.

His dad is going to kill him when he gets home. That is, if Shannon doesn't do it first.

That is, if he can even get out of the water, because he can't keep his footing. He tries pushing his way to a bank – either side, it doesn't matter, he just needs to _get out_ – but trips, and then he's underwater and he's drowning and—

He breaks the surface with a choking cry, trying to find the ground or swim against the current, but he just splashes in the water and goes under again.

Kurt vaguely hears someone shouting, and then something hits his hand and he flails for it, even as the river pulls him away and rushes into his throat. The something hits his hand again and this time he manages to grab it. It pulls him and, even in his panic, he tries to help it by kicking his legs, and then suddenly he's being hauled up onto the bank and it feels like he's coughing up his lungs. The fresh water burns as he spits it out, and something hits at his back to dislodge some more. He cries a bit – at the sensation of the water, at almost dying, at being rescued – and it's several long minutes before he's stopped shaking enough to look around.

There's a boy. He's about Kurt's age with tan skin, black, curly hair, and impossibly wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asks. Kurt nods, breathing in a few shuddery breaths and clearing his throat before he sits back on his heels.

"Thank you," he says, his voice rough and quiet. He clears his throat again, blinks back a few more tears, and then throws himself at the other boy, sobbing out more gratitude. The boy stiffens, his arms move around like he's not sure what to do, and then he awkwardly pats Kurt's back.

"Um, no problem. I just, you know, I couldn't let you die. That would be bad."

Kurt chokes out a laugh and nods, before finally letting the other boy go. He relaxes, and Kurt wipes his face and then looks more closely at the boy.

"Do you live in the village?" he asks. "I've never seen you before." Granted, he doesn't see many people, but he watches them a lot, through his windows and on top of the roof.

But the boy's face has closed down. "You're from the village?" he asks, the concern and every other emotion but anger gone from his voice. Kurt blinks, startled.

"You're not?" And then he remembers: the Outsiders, who tried to kill his father and take over his home. He immediately stands up as tall as he can (it's not very high, considering he still hasn't even had one growth spurt and his legs are still a little shaky, but the other boy stands up too and he's not very tall either) and glares as meanly as he can. "You're an _Outsider_ ," he spits.

"I'd rather be an Outsider than a weak, spineless, lazy villager!"

"Hey! We're not any of those things!" Kurt takes a step forward and lifts his chin up in an attempt to appear taller. "We're strong and we work hard, and I'm smart." He does his best sneer, trying to copy Noah's expression when he's being mean to Lucy. "We're better than the Outsiders. You're just selfish, greedy liars who kill people to get what you want."

The boy looks stricken. "I am not!" he shouts. "I'll never kill anyone! I didn't let you drown, did I?"

"Only because you didn't know I was a villager, I bet. If you had, you would have killed me just like my grandfather!" And with that, he pushes the boy to the ground, like he'd seen some of the meaner boys do. The boy blinks, shocked, before yelling and tackling Kurt to the ground. They roll around, trying to hit other. Kurt has never fought before but he's not bad, and he thinks he's won for a second when he sees the other boy's alarmed face before they both end up in the water.

Today is not Kurt's day. He'll never be let out of his room again, let alone the house. And he's never having another bath.

Luckily for Kurt, the other boy is a lot better swimmer than Kurt, and holds him so neither of their heads are underwater. They work together to swim for the closest bank and Kurt grabs a branch, keeping himself and the boy from ending up even farther downstream. He drags them both closer on his own until the boy can reach the branch as well, and then they're quickly on the bank, on their backs and breathing heavily.

"Wow," the boy breathes. Kurt turns his head to look at him, and his eyes are even wider than before. The boy looks at him and then sits up, looking a little ashamed, a little awkward, a little shy, and Kurt follows suit. He doesn't meet Kurt's eye as he stammers, "I'm. I'm sorry. About before. Calling you all those things." He peeks up at Kurt through his eyelashes. "You're not actually that bad, for a villager."

Kurt fidgets where he's sitting, clears his throat, flutters his hands for a moment before grasping them together on his lap. "Uh, I'm sorry too. I'm pretty sure you're none of the things I said. Even though you're an Outsider."

They share small, hesitant smiles, and after a moment, Kurt's widens into a grin. "So what's your name?"

"Um, Blaine."

"I'm Kurt."

"It's nice to meet you, Kurt."

"You too. What are you doing here?"

Blaine hesitates and looks at Kurt searchingly. Kurt keeps his expression as honest and friendly as possible, and is ecstatic when Blaine smiles, a bit wider than before, and answers, "I come here a lot, because it's private. My adoptive mother is really strict but it's relaxing here."

Kurt takes a moment to look around. The trees are a lot thicker, and the river is a bit loud, and he supposes it would be calming if his only other experience here weren't near death experiences.

"I've never been to the river before," he admits. "My dad's really protective. He doesn't like me going where he or Shannon can't see me. I was up there—" he points upstream "—with my friends but I accidentally floated away."

"You looked really peaceful," Blaine offers, and then blushes at the confession that he was watching, but Kurt just snorts.

"Before I almost died, you mean."

"Exactly!" Blaine says, and for some reason, Kurt bursts into laughter. "Kurt, are you o—"

"KURT."

They both jump and look around, and then suddenly Burt, followed by Shannon and Puck and Lauren and at least five adults, bursts through the trees. He scoops Kurt into his arms and squeezes him against his chest so tightly that Kurt can't breathe.

"Dad, I'm okay," he chokes out. "Blaine loo—"

At the mention of the other boy, Burt pushes Kurt into Shannon and rounds on Blaine.

"What did you do to my son?" he snarls. Blaine looks terrified, and then without warning someone comes up behind him and roughly snatches him back by a tight grip on his forearm. It's a woman Kurt doesn't recognise, with cold features and blonde hair, and wearing an entirely red outfit.

"Now, now, Burt, no need to get the boy involved."

"Sue," Burt growls. Kurt looks at Blaine, stunned with the realisation that Sue Sylvester is his adoptive mother; Blaine reflects the expression right back at him. "Get yourself and your spawn off my land. We had a deal."

Sue's eyes slide over to Kurt and he shivers, pressing himself back into Shannon's body. A smirk slowly spread over her face, and it only grows more when Burt bellows, "LEAVE."

"You might want to calm down, Hummel. We wouldn't want to work yourself into a heart attack, or slip into the water and hit your head. I don't mean you any harm, of course," she says, though her eyes flash dangerously. "I remember our deal." Her demeanour completely changes then and she snaps, "Come along, rat," at Blaine, yanking his arm so, more than once, he stumbles to the ground. He mouths a farewell at Kurt, who raises a hand which is only shaking a little in return, and then they've disappeared. Kurt looks after them – after Blaine – for a few moments before looking up at his father.

His disappointment breaks Kurt's heart.

Burt dismisses everyone else. Shannon squeezes his shoulder and Noah grimaces at him in what is probably supposed to be a supportive way, and then they leave too.

The silence is heavy, and Kurt can't look at his father's face again. He stares at the water, tears blurring his vision, but he doesn't blink to make them fall.

"I'm sorry," he eventually whispers, sounding strangled. "I didn't mean to. I was – was just – just lying on the water and I did-didn't realise I—"

"Kurt, you … you need to be more careful. Your first time out the village and all _this_ happening? You . . . Why were you just sitting with that kid? You must've known he was an Outsider."

"Blaine was nice," Kurt whispers. "And he helped me." And he didn't treat Kurt like he was a pretty porcelain bird.

"Kurt." Kurt looks at his father, who is looking back at him with a sure, steady gaze. "If that boy helped you, it's because he was after something. You got that? You can't trust an Outsider – and especially a Sylvester."

Kurt blinks slowly up at his dad, trying to fit the pieces together. Burt has never lied to him before, but Blaine had seemed so genuine, his smile so honest, his goodbye so sad. Blaine is a boy who is no older than Kurt, who finds peace in the sound of running water and the enclosed area of the trees. He doesn't seem anything at all like how Kurt's been told Outsiders act. But why would his dad lie to him?

"You gotta – you gotta promise me, son, you won't talk to an Outsider again, least not 'til you're Chief, but you won't trust them. I can't – lose you too."

Kurt's throat closes up and his eyes mist over again. He nods agreement, but he doesn't say it out loud. It doesn't really count if you don't say it out loud, Noah said, and that makes Kurt feel guilty. But he really doesn't think Blaine could ever hurt anyone.


	3. My Lullaby (or, Flames)

Sue drags Blaine at a constant speed, and by the time they get back to their house, Blaine's arms and legs are bruised and bleeding. He trips over one of the many loose floorboards and cries out as he lands on the ground and a large splinter pierces his palm.

"Get up and stop crying, you stupid brat," Sue snaps. Blaine suppresses more tears and whimpers, and clutches his hand to his chest.

"Sue!" Blaine's older brother, Cooper, bounces up to the pair, followed by a more subdued Mike, Blaine's closest – only – friend. "I figured out how to get water to the—"

"And where were you?!" Sue shouts, rounding on Cooper, who quails under her glare. "You have one job, cretin, and that's to make sure your acacia-haired mini-me stays out of trouble."

"Hey," Mike says quietly to Blaine. "Let me see that." He takes Blaine's hand and, while Sue berates a wilting Cooper, carefully plucks out the splinter. It hurts, but Blaine bites his cheeks and doesn't let himself flinch. "What happened?" he asks, and Sue spins around, towering over the pair of them.

"And you!" she snarls at Blaine. He flinches, which earns him a slap to his ear, so instead he looks up at his guardian and tries not to visibly shake. "You know what that family did to me and yet, after everything I've done for you, everything I've _given up_ for you, you betray me. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"I'm sorry, Mother," Blaine whispers, tears welling up in his eyes and guilt twisting his stomach. He wants to cry, to tell her that he didn't _know_ ho Kurt was, he just didn't want him to drown. But he can't say that because that's a failure too – Sue says all the villagers who got to stay in Pride Rock deserve to die, but Blaine doesn't think that at all. He doesn't even think Kurt should die, or his dad, and it's all their fault Blaine's parents starved to death.

Sue slaps his other ear. "Sylvesters don't apologise," she says, even though Blaine's an Anderson, not a Sylvester. "Did you think you could be friends with that backstabbing pipsqueak? That his father would accept you with open …" She cuts herself off as an idea appears in her eyes, and a triumphant smirk grows on her face. Blaine somehow finds this even scarier than when she goes into a rage and damages their house even more than the arid environment already has.

He becomes downright terrified when she smiles at him, runs a hand through his hair in a mockery of motherhood and coos, "Oh, you clever child. Such a scheme from one so young – finally, you've earned the name _Sylvester_. We'll work on your diminutive height next."

Blaine blinks up at her but doesn't say anything to the contrary. If she thinks that was his idea all along, maybe she won't be as hard on him. He can ignore the occasional comment about his height or his hair if it means she'll stop slapping his ears and taking away his food when he does something wrong.

"Dung!" she suddenly snaps at Cooper, who immediately straightens and manages to wipe most of the pout off his face. "Organise a meeting for tomorrow morning. Anyone who doesn't attend will be strapped to the belly of a donkey and pushed into a pit of hungry wolves."

"What for?"

"Did I say you could ask questions?" Cooper mumbles a 'no' and then sulks off to begin his job, and a glare from Sue sends Mike scuttling after him; then Sue turns back to Blaine with that creepy smile on her face again. "As for you, it's been a long day, and I'm sure you're tired. We'll begin your training in the morning."

Blaine is too scared to ask 'what training?'

*

Eight years pass. Blaine barely notices. There doesn't seem to be much of a point in keeping track of the days when they're all the same: his mornings are history lessons, Sue teaching him about the injustice of their predicament; his afternoons are rigorous training, learning how to kill with and without weapons; and the evening is when Sue tells him stories of the tyranny of the Hummel family and teaches him miscellaneous skills and strategy. So that when The Day comes, he's ready.

The Day is, Blaine finds out when he's thirteen, the day after Kurt Hummel's eighteenth birthday. It's tradition in Pride Rock that when one enters adulthood, he or she must go on a hunt, and they have to bring back the largest animal they can find. It's optional for all the villagers except for the Hummels and anyone who wants to become a guard or officer.

When Sue's spy, a small, immoral girl called Becky, comes back from the village to say that Kurt has left on his hunt, Blaine, Cooper and Mike cross the river into Hummel land. Blaine is the best tracker, much to Cooper's discontent, which he makes known several times in a grumpy undertone until Mike tells him to stop making a noise otherwise they'll be found out.

And then there is Kurt. Blaine vaguely remembers their meeting when he was nine; he remembers saving his life, Kurt being rude and hurtful, Kurt's look of disgust when he realised where Blaine was from. He also remembers, though this he has never told anyone, how Kurt held onto him so tightly when they both fell in the water that Blaine had a bruise for a week.

Puberty has been good to Kurt, Blaine can't help but notice as he looks at the villager's jaw, his arms, his nose, his long legs, his cheeks. He moves with the grace of a swan through water, stepping lightly over anything that might give him away to his prey. His brow is smooth but hardened in concentration. It's a far cry from the small, thin, soft-looking awkwardly elegant boy Blaine met all those years ago.

He can't help but watch for a few moments, fascinated, before signalling for Cooper and Mike to move out. His older brother sends him a glare as he goes, but Blaine ignores it; Mike is a better brother, and a more preferred one, than Cooper has ever been.

While Blaine waits for his companions to do their job, Blaine watches Kurt, unhindered and unashamed.

Kurt stops, presses himself up a tree and takes careful aim with his bow and arrow … but then there's a crack, a thump and a yell, and Blaine hears the unmistakable thud of an arrow embedding itself in a tree trunk. Kurt swears quietly under his breath, and then shouts, "Noah Puckerman!" in a high voice that rings through the air and into Blaine's skin.

"Man," a voice complains as its owner comes into view: a young man with hair cut into a stripe down the centre of his head, "how'd you know it was me?"

Kurt looks furious. His cheeks redden and he purses his lips. Blaine flashes back to the exact same expression on a face eight years younger.

"I can't believe this! I can't believe my father actually sent out babysitters!" Kurt scoffs. "No, I'm not surprised." He glares around and shouts for someone else called Shannon to come out, and a woman almost as tall and twice as muscular as Noah comes out through the trees. Kurt shouts at them for following him, sounding betrayed, and then storms off, and Blaine thinks this is an excellent development for multiple reasons:

If Kurt feels betrayed or even slightly isolated from his family and friends, it makes Blaine's job a lot easier.

Kurt is heading towards the river, which means it'll be much more believable when Blaine 'rescues' him.

There is no doubt, since his babysitters are arguing over who's fault it is they were discovered, that Kurt is now completely and totally on his own.

For another hour, Blaine follows Kurt through the forest. It should be boring, but there's something about the way Kurt moves – fluid, precise, careful – that makes him lose all sense of time. He also, however, loses a lot of sense of location awareness, because he doesn't smell the smoke until he notices lots of insects heading in the same direction. He grins.

Kurt doesn't catch on until they hear the crackle of the fire, and by then, Blaine has jumped down from the trees and is ready to run. The adrenalin is already pumping by the time he sees the first lick of fire; the exhilaration turns for a brief moment to fear when the fire cuts off his route and almost drops a heavy branch on him. The river isn't too far – a few hundred more yards – but the flames are getting close, the smoke is thickening, and Blaine keeps losing sight of Kurt. He may actually have lost Kurt if it weren't for all the coughing.

When the coughing doesn't stop and worsens, worry twists Blaine's gut. If Kurt dies then the mission fails before it's even truly begun. He doubles back, but the smoke means the sound echoes strangely, and the fire is almost touching them by the time Blaine actually finds Kurt, coughing up his lungs and half unconscious. Blaine's throat burns too much to swear so he screams profanities in his head as loudly as he can as he holds Kurt up and finally, _finally_ gets them both into the blessedly cool water.

He dunks both himself and Kurt briefly under the water, and then leans against the opposite bank, eyes closed and head tilted back in relief, until his pulse has calmed down. He looks over at Kurt and panics for a few seconds when he sees the other boy's eyes are closed – if Kurt's dead, Sue will _kill him_ – but then Blaine sees his chest moving, and his heartbeat is pretty steady, so he's probably just fainted.

Blaine gives himself a few moments of rest before hauling himself up, balancing Kurt over his shoulder, and heading downstream. The fire won't spread past the evergreens, and then it won't be long before they're out of the forest and nearing the village.

At least in the meantime, he thinks as he feels Kurt start to stir, he won't have to awkwardly drag another body beside him.

"Wha's goin' on?" Kurt mumbles. As his body stops being dead weight and he starts regathering the strength in his legs, Blaine stops holding all Kurt's weight and just supports it instead.

"You're alright," he says. "You're safe now."

Kurt blinks at him woozily. Blaine can see the fog in his eyes clearing as he becomes more aware, looking up at the sky which signals where they've left the fire behind, and at their surroundings, and by the time he looks at Blaine, his eyes are piercing blue, curious, and slightly distrustful.

"Did you … ?"

"Well, I couldn't just let you die." He could. He _should_. Kurt is a Hummel, and all the Hummels deserve to die. Even if Blaine doesn't know if he entirely thinks that, because he doesn't know if he thinks anyone _deserves_ to die. "That would be kinda bad."

Kurt stares at him incredulously, and then lets out a short laugh, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth. "Blaine?!"

Blaine grins at him. "We've gotta stop meeting like this."

"I don't know – if you keep saving my life, I might just keep you around."

Blaine doesn't know what to say to that, or after that. Luckily, he doesn't have to think for long, because Burt Hummel, Noah and Shannon, and a whole bunch of other villagers are suddenly upon them, Burt wrenching his son away from Blaine like he did when they were children.

"The hell do you think you're doing on my land?" he demands, drawing himself up to his full height. It would be intimidating if Blaine hadn't been terrorised by Sue Sylvester for his entire life.

Blaine stands tall, holds his chin up in the picture of confidence, and says, "I want to join you."

Burt starts laughing immediately at that; it's mocking and disbelieving. He doesn't trust Blaine. He's right not to.

"Like hell you are!"

"Dad!" Kurt's voice interrupts, twisting away from the bigger man, folding his arms and glaring at him.

"Oh!" another voice exclaims, female this time. Blaine looks over to see a blonde-haired young woman looking at him, simultaneously quizzical and serene. "You saved Kurt's life, didn't you?" She peers at him and Kurt and then nods decisively. "You have the same markings on your faces, so you're definitely connected."

Burt looks at the woman and then back to Blaine. His eyes are wary, but his mouth is set in a confused line.

"Did you really save my son's life?" he asks, and Blaine nods, trying to stand taller. "Why? Ain't you that Sylvester kid?"

Blaine takes a deep breath. "I was. However, she's . . . well. You know. I ask to be able to return to the village, because I don't agree with the way Sue does things."

"Absolutely not," Burt says firmly.

"Yes!" Kurt exclaims.

"Kurt—"

"No. Blaine's saved my life _twice_ now, Dad, and you know Sue won't hesitate to kill someone who might get in the way of her plans." Blaine wants to laugh with how true that is. "At the very least, I am indebted to him."

"It's true," says the large girl standing at Burt's right shoulder. "Pride may be full of idiots who don't know how to get over themselves—" she looks at Noah pointedly "—but the Hummels have integrity and honour." She shrugs. "Sorry, boss, it's the way it is."

Burt clenches his fists and grits his teeth, face reddening again until . . . "Fine." Kurt bounces on his toes, looking pleased, and then he turns to Shannon and tells her to run ahead and ask Santana to get one of the rooms ready. "WHAT?" Burt bellows, and Kurt gives him a reproaching stare.

"Well, it's not like we have an abundance of spare houses lying around," he says calmly, "and since it's me who owes him, it's only fair for me to take Blaine in. You're the one who doesn't trust me to live on my own." They stare at each other, and Blaine gets the feeling he's missing something.

"Fine," Burt repeats, and then glares at Blaine. "You, move it."

Blaine smiles at him, laying on the gratitude, and then follows the rest of the group as they start moving forward. He lingers at the back, but even so, some of the people turn around with what they think are subtle glances. The young woman from before looks pleased with him, and gives him a nod which looks like it has some meaning behind it before she runs ahead. Burt and Kurt speak in heated whispers a few feet in front of Blaine, and when that argument ends, Burt sends Blaine a vicious glare before making his way forward, and Kurt drops back to talk to Blaine.

"I don't remember if I said before," he smiles sincerely, "but thank you for saving my life." He laughs. The sound is lovelier than before. "Twice."

"Well, you saved my life once, and you've given me a place to stay, but who's keeping track?"

Kurt smiles, and then looks abashed. "You, uh. It's okay that you're staying with me, isn't it? It'll be awkward wherever you stay but at least at mine you'll have a friendly face."

"Thank you, Kurt." He smiles; he hasn't smiled this much in . . . ever, he thinks, and his cheeks are starting to ache a little. "I appreciate it."

"Oh, it was no problem," Kurt says airily, waving his hand. He looks back at the group ahead of them, and Blaine is delighted – _too_ delighted? maybe – to see pink on his cheeks that definitely wasn't there before. "It'll be a while before Dad lets me do anything fun for a while so how about, tomorrow after breakfast, I take you on a tour of the village? I can introduce you to my friends, and we could look for a place for you to have all by yourself."

"That sounds wonderful."

It really kind of does.


	4. Upendi (or, Home Is Where the Heart Is)

Blaine is awake when Kurt comes to get him for breakfast the next morning; Sue never let him sleep for more than four hours, saying sleep is for the weak, and now he always wakes with the sun.

"Good morning!" Kurt greets chirpily. His hair is teased upwards and his clothes – deep red trousers, a white shirt and a black vest embroidered with gold stitches in random shapes – reflect to make his eyes a stark blue. Blaine raises an eyebrow because otherwise he might start staring.

"Morning," he returns, and closes the bedroom door behind him.

"I hope you don't mind but we'll be getting breakfast from the bakery this morning," Kurt says as they start walking. "Mrs Schuester is a very good cook but she has nothing on Carole Hudson's pastries."

The thought of warm, fresh pastries makes Blaine's mouth water. "I don't mind."

Kurt stops and blinks at him, and then gasps with realisation. "Have you ever even had one before?" At Blaine shakes his head no, Kurt gets a look of fierce determination on his face, grabs Blaine's hand, and quickly drags him along. "Oh, you are in for a _treat_."

*

Kurt pushes Blaine into the bakery first by his shoulders, listing off pastries before he's even properly through the door. Carole doesn't bat an eyelid at the two boys' suddenly appearance; looking amused, she immediately sets about collecting the treats and putting them in a box on the counter.

"Is that all?" she asks teasingly, to which Kurt nods and says, exaggeratedly haughty, "Put it on my father's tab," and then they both dissolve into giggles. When Kurt looks over at Blaine, the other boy looks perplexed, so Kurt explains, "Ms Hudson has always been kind to me so last year I persuaded her and Dad to begin courting."

"Feel free to call me Carole," she says, smiling as she holds out a hand to Blaine. He looks at her carefully, and a lump forms in Kurt's throat when he remembers his only experience of parenting is _Sue Sylvester_ and who knows what he's suffered at her hand. When he shakes Carole's hand, Kurt feels pride swell in his chest, and he beams at the ex-Outsider.

"Um. Blaine."

Carole refuses to take Kurt's money, saying with a conspiratorial wink to Blaine that it's her welcome to the village. Blaine looks baffled, and Kurt grabs his hand again with a laugh, carrying the box carefully under one arm as he pulls Blaine out the bakery again.

Blaine may have grown up eating undercooked or stale everything, but he's completely convinced that nothing tastes as good as Carole's baking. Kurt tells him what each pastry is as Blaine picks up another one; Blaine ignores him in favour of concentrating fully on eating the damn thing. There haven't been any that stand out as a favourite – although, the one with the chocolate and cream was particularly delicious . . . – or that he hasn't liked, so he'll just point at random whenever he next wants something.

"I do love to say 'I told you so'." Kurt beams at him, his eyes lighting up in a way that almost makes Blaine drop whatever he's got now in the fountain.

"I'm not even annoyed," Blaine says, "these are too amazing." He takes another bite and then moans around it, "Kurt, these are so _good_."

Kurt laughs, "Aren't they?" and tears off a piece of his muffin to eat it. It's such a clean, dainty way to eat that it had almost distracted Blaine to begin with, so used to the feral, scavenging way everyone but Sue did. (Thinking about it, Blaine isn't sure he's ever actually seen Sue eat anything.)

"We'll come back to get some more later," Kurt promises, wiping his hands on a handkerchief. Blaine wipes his hands on his trousers and brushes the crumbs off in the same movement, and looks up to see Kurt's horrified face.

"What?"

"That—" He shoves the handkerchief at him. "Use this. Just. _Honestly_."

And then he looks at Blaine's face and giggles, and the sudden mood change threatens to give Blaine a headache.

" _What_?" he repeats, though this time his tone is bordering on fed up. It's not exactly the best way to get close to the Chief's son (damn him, he'd forgotten about that) but he's fairly sure Kurt doesn't actually have many friends. As long as he doesn't start throwing insults around, he'll be able to recover.

"You've got, um." Kurt stifles another giggle, looking at Blaine's lips while touching the corner of his own. "There's some cream on your lip from the chocolate éclair."

Blaine rolls his eyes – he doesn't understand how it's funny, though he's usually a tidier eater – and pokes his tongue out to try and get it. Kurt shakes his head even as he starts giggling some more, hand pressed ineffectually to his mouth. Blaine looks at him uncertainly.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just. I'm sorry." Kurt clears his throat and straightens. His eyes are wide and sparkling, his lips curl upwards, and there's a faint, happy pink high on his cheeks that triggers a blush on Blaine's. "No, you missed, it's . . ." He reaches out a hand to point out the cream, but seems to catch himself partway and hesitates, the flushes on both their cheeks darkening. Kurt isn't touching him, but Blaine can feel him all the same. "It's, um, it's there," Kurt says breathily, eyes darting between Blaine's eyes and his lips.

Blaine breathes out slowly, trying to slow his pulse, which seems to make Kurt snap out of it. He darts his hand away and turns on the spot, fiddling unnecessarily with the box as he rambles on about something or other in a tone much higher pitched than it usually is. But Blaine can't move. He watches Kurt – how he avoids looking at Blaine for more than a second, how his ears and the back of his neck turn steadily redder before fading – and tries to figure out why his heart is beating so fast and why his skin suddenly feels so cold.

"Come on!" Kurt trills, reaching out to touch Blaine's bicep but pulling away before he makes contact. "We're a small village but there's still enough to do. Have you seen the rock which somehow gave this village its name?"

"No," Blaine says roughly. He clears his throat, shakes out his limbs, wipes away the cream and then gives Kurt the handkerchief back.

*

Kurt has always thought that Pride Rock (the actual rock, not the village) is utterly dull, and has never understood the rest of the village's fascination with it – it is, after all, just a large rock sticking out the ground and shaped in such a way that it provides a number of seats.

Now, however, he is perfectly willing to sing its praises: there's just enough history and geology and cultural impact to talk about that he manages to talk right through the lingering tension. He would kiss the bloody thing if it wouldn't get him concerned looks by everyone pretending to be going about there business instead of staring at Blaine.

"Wow," is Blaine's forced response to Kurt's lesson. "That's really . . . interesting."

Kurt grins and says in an undertone, "Honestly? Watching paint dry is more fun than anything about the Rock. At least the paint is doing something."

Blaine looks startled, which makes Kurt laugh.

"Come on," he says, wanting to pull on Blaine's hand but settling for a gesture, "I'll show you my second most favourite place in the entire village."

As they walk – side by side now, instead of Blaine awkwardly trailing behind – Kurt keeps up a running commentary of the village and steadfastly ignores the stares. It goes successfully until three boys (David Karofsky, Azimio Adams, and an uncomfortable- and reluctant-looking Finn Hudson) cut them off. Kurt tilts up his chin, raises an eyebrow, and looks at them disdainfully.

"You're not welcome here, Outsider," David says. He glares at Blaine and towers over him intimidatingly, but Blaine just looks vaguely bemused and mostly bored.

"Beg pardon?"

"Yeah, you'll be begging when we're through with you." Azimio lunges, and Kurt starts forward even as Blaine dodges and brings up a leg to knee the bigger boy in the stomach. David shouts out and jumps towards them, but Kurt pushes himself between them and punches him in the jaw.

"You'll pay for that, queenie," he snarls, and Kurt loses track of Blaine and Finn and Azimio because he's too busy trying not to let David get close enough to give him another concussion or broken arm.

And then suddenly, David is sprawled across the floor on top of Azimio, Finn is nowhere to be seen, and Kurt and Blaine are being dragged away by an alternately cursing and whooping Noah. Glancing over his shoulder, Kurt sees the two bullies getting up and glaring at them, but they don't give chase.

Noah doesn't let up until he's thrown both boys into chairs in the Hummels' family room. He stands in front of them looking smug and no worse the wear for getting in a fight (unlike Blaine, whose hair and clothes are rumpled and who is developing a bruise on his cheek; Kurt himself, he realises, probably doesn't look much better), and then Shannon joins them, her face pulled into a worried, disapproving frown.

"The hell were you thinking goin' down that way on your own, kid?" she demands. Kurt crosses his arms defiantly and rearranges himself to match.

"I think I should be able to walk around my own village without guards, don't you?"

"You know what I think," Noah says, and Shannon says his name warningly like this isn't the first time they've had this conversation. "I'm just saying! There's no way Kurt's gonna get any respect from those guys unless he gives 'em a good punch in the jaw."

"I've already done that, remember?" It had been two years ago, and while Kurt broke Azimio's nose, he also broke his own knuckles. "Besides," he adds, his lips curling automatically in derision, "they won't respect me even when I'm actually their Chief."

Noah mutters names under his breath, and Blaine asks, "Why not?"

Kurt looks at him, surprised. He'd forgotten, or maybe just not realised, that Blaine hadn't been around four years ago. "Oh. Um." He breathes out a steadying breath, and he hopes this won't turn Blaine against him. "I like boys. Only boys. Those guys we ran into today – they don't like that. They think it makes me . . . _less fit_ , let's say, to be the next Chief."

"You're more of a man than they'll ever be and those bastards know it!" Noah hits Kurt's back and he winces, even as he watches for Blaine's reaction carefully. He just, for the most part, looks confused, and then he shrugs. Kurt sighs in relief.

"Well, the tour of the village isn't over," Kurt says as he stands up and smooths out his clothes, "so if you'll excuse us." He smiles at his guards and begins to step past them, but Shannon holds an arm in front of his chest and grips his bicep.

"No way, you're not gettin' off that easy, squealer."

Kurt flinches at the nickname and resolutely does not look at Blaine.

"C'mon, Bieste, we'll just go with 'em," Noah says. He slings an arm around Blaine's shoulders and grins. "How else is the Outsider gonna find out about our next Chief's sexuality crisis?"

On second thought, the tour sounds like a really bad idea.

*

By the time Blaine goes back to his new room, he's almost ready to just fall asleep. Noah – well, Puck, as he'd insisted he be called – had taken every opportunity to embarrass Kurt or cause trouble, making Blaine wonder why he's been kept on as a bodyguard. He guesses it's the intimidation factor – even in his old village, there's aren't many who look as scary as Puck. It's probably the Mohawk.

But Blaine doesn't remember the last time he had so much fun – or, hell, any fun at all. He'd been introduced to all of Kurt's friends, been bought and made a whole new wardrobe, and somehow the three of them had, under Shannon's watchful eye, ended up helping various villagers out with their jobs. There had been lots of running around, but now, most of the village trusts him.

What's concerning is how genuinely happy he is about that. It's been one day and he's already becoming complacent; if he doesn't finish his mission soon, he never will.

He changes into a new outfit, something dark, fitted close to his body, and durable. Burt has gone to bed already, and he sleeps alone, but Blaine needs every advantage he can get, especially since some of the lamps in the corridor are still lit.

He doesn't make a sound as he creeps down the hall, thanks to Sue's training. But he finds himself passing right by Burt's door and standing outside Kurt's. He doesn't know why; he can't say goodbye, and only partly because he might give something away. He doesn't even know why his chest aches at the thought of killing Kurt's father and leaving, and he doesn't understand the sharp pain he feels when he remembers that someday soon, one of the Outsiders will kill Kurt too (but not Blaine, no, the very thought makes his stomach churn and his palms sweat and his blood rush in his ears).

With an almost inaudible sigh, Blaine presses his right hand to Kurt's door just below shoulder level, about where Kurt's heart would be. Wondering what the other boy is doing – whether he's asleep already, or maybe he has a book or a piece of cloth – Blaine steps forward and presses his forehead against the door.

"I'm sorry, Kurt," he whispers, squeezing his eyes closed. It's the best farewell he can give, even if the recipient never hears it.

He goes to push himself off the door – he really will never leave if he doesn't go now – but he hears a song coming from inside the room. The voice is high-pitched, muted through the wood but still beautiful; the words are about a bird, broken but still flying on. Blaine cracks open the door and Kurt's voice becomes louder and clearer, but Kurt isn't in the room so Blaine goes inside, closing the door behind him, and following the sound to the open window. When he pokes his head out, he finally sees Kurt, sitting on the roof with his eyes closed and his head thrown back.

Blaine stares, transfixed, at the small smile playing at the corners of Kurt's lips. He doesn't even realise he's forgotten to breathe until the song ends, and the intake of breath makes Kurt jump.

"Hell, Blaine, don't scare me like that."

Blaine shakes his head to rid himself of the trance, but vestiges remain, clinging stubbornly to his head and his heart, and still Kurt looks more stunning than before.

"Sorry," he finally gets out. "I heard . . ." He breathes out slowly, trying to slow his heart, as stares up at Kurt again. "That was beautiful," he says, his voice coming out heavy and reverent, and Kurt immediately flushes a dark pink.

"Thanks," he squeaks, and then clears his throat and shuffles across the roof a few inches. "Would you – would you like to sit up here?" Blaine scrambles up without hesitation or much difficulty, despite the window being at an awkward height. When he's finally settled, he stares at Kurt again, because he can't seem to be able to stop, though Kurt doesn't look back at him.

With a start, Blaine realises it's his turn to talk. "It's really nice up here," he offers, although he hasn't actually looked around.

"This is my first favourite place in the village." Kurt smiles; Blaine's heart beats a little harder. "I can't see everything – I can't see behind us, for example – but, over there, past the trees . . ." He points, and Blaine tears his eyes away from Kurt's face to follow his finger. "That's where we first met. And you can just about see the bakery, and there's the tailor . . ." He continues to list the places he showed Blaine earlier, in between sharing anecdotes of things he'd seen when he'd sat on the roof before, and Blaine soaks it all in.

And then Brittany appears out of nowhere behind them, and Blaine almost attacks her out of instinct.

"I'm here to pick you up, but don't ask where because Rachel said I'm not allowed to tell you about the party," she says.

Blaine doesn't respond – he doesn't understand Brittany, even when he tries, so he decides to let Kurt do all the talking and translate later – and Kurt asks, "Who?"

"Rachel. She makes lots of noise."

"No, who are you here to pick up?"

"Both of you."

The party, Blaine soon finds out, is in the theatre, although it's been transformed by different coloured ribbons and torches and large pieces of cloth draped randomly across the rearranged furniture. There's a banner hanging directly parallel to the ceiling saying 'Welcome, Blaine', and underneath it are at least a dozen of the other teenagers Blaine's met throughout the day. He gapes at the room, a strange warmth swelling in his chest and catching his chest.

"Is this . . . ?" Kurt trails off.

"Blaine, we want to welcome you to our village and congratulate you on escaping the evil hands of the Sylvester family," Brittany says. "Santana did say the Sylvesters have claws but only animals have claws, not people, so they actually have evil hands. It's was Puck's idea to throw a party and Rachel organised it. It was really dull before Puck brought the ale."

"Thank you, Brittany," Kurt says softly. He lies a gentle hand on Blaine's shoulder, jolting him out of his staring.

"Thank you," he echoes in a strangled voice, and then he clears his throat and blinks harshly.

"I also got you this." Brittany picks a dark purple fruit out of her pocket, and Blaine takes it with a shaking hand. "It's a passion fruit."

"Um, thank you?"

Brittany rolls her eyes. "Passion fruit tastes best when you're in love. Didn't you know that? So I guess it's technically for both of you . . ."

Blaine blinks at her in confusion, even as Kurt's hand momentarily tightens and then releases its grip so Kurt can clap and send Brittany away in a high-pitched voice. Blaine turns to Kurt, who's cheeks have turned pink, and asks, "What did she mean?"

"Oh, good, the guest of honour is here!" Rachel exclaims, breaking away from the rest to take the stage. "Now we can finally get started!"

She makes a signal and someone starts playing some music, and she breaks into song, slightly off-key. Kurt snickers.

"Looks like the party's already started," he says. "She's half drunk already."

Blaine studies her for a moment and then smiles back at Kurt. "Maybe we should get half drunk too."

Kurt scoffs, "No, not for me. The last time I got drunk didn't end very well – don't even bother, I'm not telling you that story and the only other person who knows is my dad – so I'm staying clear." At Blaine's hesitation, he adds, "But don't let me stop you," so Puck pours him a drink, after giving him a welcome clap on the back.

During his first drink, Blaine mostly lingers at the edge, feeling too out of place to do much else. He watches Kurt socialise, and just barely seems to be able to stop whenever someone comes over to talk to him. One of the girls, Mercedes, catches him looking and gives him a sly smile, which makes Blaine's face heat up in embarrassment.

By the time he's on his third drink, however, he is much more confident. He inserts himself in conversations independent of Kurt, and when Finn apologises, he lets it go instead of making a returning threat. Sometimes, out of the corner of his eye, he'll see Kurt looking at him; his expression is both proud and curiously soft, and every time Blaine sees it, his skin tingles and he stands up a little straighter.

"Blaine Syvlester!" Rachel shouts drunkenly as she falls into him.

"My family's name is Anderson, actually," he says, and then catches himself in surprise. He hasn't thought of himself as an Anderson in . . . years.

"How c'me we haven't h-heard you sing yet?" she asks, repeatedly poking a finger into his chest. "Y're speaking voice is div-divine so – so y're singin' should b-be ev'n bester."

Blaine tries to think of something to say, anything but the truth that he doesn't know any songs appropriate to the situation, and ends up mumbling something incoherent under his breath. "I wanna hear Kurt sing, anyway," he finishes with.

" _That_ – is an excellent idea. Kurt!" And then she's off, and Blaine watches as she talks to Kurt. Kurt laughs and nods, and Blaine's stomach tightens in anticipation as Kurt climbs onto the stage. The music begins, and as Kurt sings about unapologetically being who you are to his friends' cheers and Rachel's scowl, Blaine can only stare in awe. It's so different to the song Kurt was singing earlier, higher and paradoxically more and less vulnerable, and the fruit still in Blaine's pocket feels heavy when Kurt throws his head back and screws his eyes closed at the climax of the song.

_Passion fruit tastes best when you're in love._

Blaine's eyes widen, staring unseeingly at the stage. He forgets how to breathe, and think, and feel anything that isn't his feelings for Kurt.

_So I guess it's for both of you._

Blaine feels dizzy, so he staggers outside, clutching at the passion fruit in his pocket. When he's out in the cool night air, his breath comes out quick and tremulous as he closes his eyes and leans against the wall.

"Blaine, are you okay?"

Blaine's head snaps around and his eyes open before he's even thought about it. Kurt hovers by the door, uncertain but concerned. He steadily turns pinker the longer he looks at Blaine, and he wonders what the expression on his face is.

 _Brittany was right_ _,_ he wants to say.

I'm in love with you.

I'm only here to kill you and your dad and please, don't be in love with me too, I'm begging you.

But all that comes out of his mouth is Kurt's name, whispered and tight and loaded with everything he can't say.

"B-Blaine?" Kurt asks shakily.

"Kurt," he repeats, and suddenly Kurt's face is only inches away from his own. His eyes flicker between Kurt's eyes and Kurt's lips, and he fills with heat when Kurt does the same. Surprisingly steady, Blaine slowly reaches up his hand to rest it on Kurt's hot cheek and moves forward and up to press his lips against Kurt, leaving his eyes open until the last minute. Kurt's eyelashes brush against Blaine's cheeks as his eyes flutter closed. After a long second, Blaine pulls away to make sure this is okay, but he only glimpses Kurt's shining eyes before the other boy is pulling him back, wrapping an arm around Blaine's shoulders and pressing their lips together firmly. A noise sounds in Blaine's throat as he holds Kurt's waist and kisses him back, sure and gentle and with as much love as he can convey, and with Mercedes' soulful voice twining them together.


	5. Not One Of Us (or, Truth and Lies)

Kurt doesn't know what to expect the next morning. Blaine to be a bit hungover, maybe, even though his drinks had been light in alcohol and he'd only had the three. But will the atmosphere be awkward?

Last night, they'd only stopped kissing when they'd heard the party starting to wind down. Kurt pulled Blaine along and they ran, giddy and laughing, back to Kurt's house, where they'd spent another half hour just inside Kurt's bedroom door, kissing in parting but not quite managing to stop until Kurt started yawning.

Now, Kurt is sitting in his chair at the table, unable to stop fidgeting with nerves and anticipation, pushing his eggs around his plate.

It's thirteen minutes and seven seconds past nine exactly when Blaine pulls out the chair next to Kurt with a murmured good morning to both Hummels. Kurt is mortified to feel his cheeks heat up just by the other boy's proximity, and he doesn't even dare to look up and see what his dad's expression is.

Breakfast is tense. Kurt looks at Blaine out of the corner of his eye, and whenever he catches Blaine looking back at him they share blushes and smiles. His dad's eyes are heavy in their study.

"So what are you boys planning to do today?"

Kurt immediately thinks about kissing Blaine some more and blushes brightly. Burt raises his eyebrow, and Kurt clears his throat and then forces himself to meet his eye.

"I took Blaine to the bakery yesterday—" hell, please don't let anyone else have heard how his voice went higher on Blaine's name "—so today I'm taking him to the sweet shop—"

"There's a sweet shop?" Blaine exclaims, eyes wide and sparkling in such a childish way it makes Kurt's heart ache, and then it aches for an entirely different reason when the other boy remembers about Burt and his shine dims again. Burt looks at Blaine, who studiously picks more at his food, and after a few moments nods to himself.

"Before you do that, I want a word with Blaine."

Kurt puts his fork down, his blood turned cold. Burt takes one look at him and snorts.

"Don't look so worried, kid, I'm not gonna kill the Outsider."

"He's not an Outsider any more."

"Ex-Outsider, then." He looks at Blaine. "When you've finished eating, put some shoes on then come get me. I'll be in my office," he says, and then leaves the room and Kurt and Blaine alone.

*

Blaine honestly can't remember ever feeling so happy, the trepidation about going on a walk with Chief Hummel not quite putting out the fire from Kurt's morning kisses. The man's assurance that he isn't going to kill Blaine does not, unsurprisingly, reassure him at all. Where is he supposed to go if he's kicked out of the village?

(He doesn't notice that he's forgotten about his mission and his old village.)

(He doesn't notice, so caught up in his worry as he and Chief Hummel walk out the village and away from the villagers' ears, the rustle of a bush, eyes peering around a tree, or the crackle of a fallen leaf being stepped on.)

Maybe he and Kurt could run away together and live in the forest. Or maybe they could go to the nearest town – he's heard it's only a three-week journey, and he can easily survive for that long.

To stop himself from doing something foolish (like sprinting back to the village, grabbing Kurt and disappearing into the undergrowth), Blaine clears his throat and says, "Pride Rock is very different to how I expected it."

Then he realises what he said and flinches. He opens his mouth to apologise, because there's no way Burt won't take that as a subtle insult; but the older chuckles and gives him a wry grin.

"Yeah, I'd imagine Sylvester tells all kinds'a crap. Bet she had you convinced I was no better than a tyrant, huh?" Blaine nods, more than a little confused. "Listen, kid." Burt stops and turns his whole body to Blaine. He puts a hand on Blaine's shoulder but it doesn't feel restricting, resting on the edge of the blade rather than gripping right in the middle. Blaine feels his body relax. "I don't deal much with Sue Sylvester – I never have, and I don't plan to, either – but I know that woman will do anything to get what she wants."

He levels his gaze and says, "Including manipulating an innocent boy into doin' her dirty work."

Blaine's breath stutters.

"But I've seen how you look at my kid. Hell," Burt snorts, "you have the same look as you did way back – what was it? – eight years ago? So, I believe you. And you've got some guts, standing up to Sylvester."

This is all wrong. Burt should hate him - has to hate him, has to not trust him, because he's already convinced Kurt and Carole and all those people who threw him a welcome party last night. Someone needs to see Blaine for who he really is, know what he came here to do.

But why not Burt? Blaine could tell him the truth: setting up the fire, tricking his way into the village, falling in love with Kurt. Maybe Blaine will be lucky, and Chief Hummel will let him come back.

"Chief," he starts, more terrified than he's been in his entire life, "I need to tell you—"

And then in his peripheral he sees people emerge from behind the trees, he hears movement through the grass, and a familiar voice behind him that shoots ice through his veins:

"How touching. Really, I might have shed a tear if I hadn't burnt my tear ducts closed years ago."

Blaine whirls around and instinctively takes a defensive stance. Sue looks at him. She smirks.

"Well done, Blaine. I thought you had changed your underdeveloped mind, but I see this was your plan all along. I'm actually impressed."

Blood pounds in Blaine's ears. No. No. This isn't fair, he was just about to tell Burt, he was going to escape Sue and let Kurt love him, and – that's why Sue did it.

He becomes aware that he's talking, denials and confessions and explanations interrupting and tripping over one another as he tries to convince Burt that he's no longer like that. It isn't working, of course; Burt – Chief Hummel – looks angrier than any other time combined, his face going red with it.

When the first Outsider leaps towards them, Blaine sees a gap – a way out – and runs.

*

Kurt's worried – his dad and Blaine have been gone for over an hour. He can read his dad pretty well so, after his assurance at breakfast, Kurt had relaxed – but what if Blaine had said something or Burt had changed his mind or—

Kurt breathes in deeply and closes his eyes. He's just being paranoid. For all he knows, they've found some common ground or something to bond over – what an awful person Sue Sylvester is, for example – and lost track of time. It's perfectly valid.

A commotion from outside distracts Kurt from his thoughts, and he gratefully stops his pacing to hurry to the front door. Maybe he's got lucky and Karofsky and Azimio have been caught breaking some laws and, in the absence of his father, Kurt will get to punish them.

The sight that greets him instead is Shannon Bieste holding up his limping, bruised, bleeding father, and no Blaine.

"Dad!" he shouts out, already running forward. "Dad, what happened? Where's Blaine?" His hands hover over his dad's body, unsure where is safe to touch. His mind spills over with images of Blaine hurt and lying in the woods. He could even be dead but—but the thought is too much, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him gasping for breath.

Burt coughs and then pulls away. He looks steadily at the harried, worried villagers and waits until they fall quite before he says, "Sue Sylvester will try and attack the village. Make sure you can protect yourselves, and be ready to fight when I call." He looks at Kurt, his eyes regretful in a way that makes dread fall heavy in Kurt's stomach, as he adds, "And don't trust any of the Outsiders. Blaine came here to kill me."

Blaine doesn't stop running until he's long left behind the sounds of fighting. He doubles over, panting and trying not to cry. He wonders if Burt's okay, and then he almost throws up with the force of his shame.

He left Burt behind. He betrayed Kurt, and he betrayed his family. Maybe Mike would accept him, but there's no way he would go against Sue. He's like to think Cooper would be on his side, too – that the three of them could leave and go somewhere new, maybe see what's outside the forest – but he knows his older brother has always been jealous of his Golden Boy status.

He won't risk saying goodbye to Mike and running into Sue again, but he needs to tell Kurt the truth. Kurt can ignore him or not believe him or even like him any more but whatever happens, Blaine has to leave soon.

There's a yell, which is the only warning Blaine gets before he's skidding across the ground.

"You coward! Traitor! Murderer!"

"No!" Blaine shouts, blocking Quinn's surprisingly heavy punches and then grabbing her wrists. "I haven't killed anyone!"

"Cooper's dead!"

They both still, Quinn panting heavily and Blaine trying to remember how to breathe. He stares at Quinn, almost unseeing as he tries to process that, tries to understand that his only blood relative – to whom he has never been particularly close, with whom he has had a viciously competitive rivalry since they were both boys – is no longer alive, and Blaine will never see him again.

"Your brother's _dead_ ," she spits poisonously, glaring at him, "and it's all your fault. He was chasing Hummel, trying to fix _your_ damn mistake."

She kicks up then, and only instinct makes Blaine twist to protect his groin from the cheap shot, although that means he has to let go of the girl's wrists too. She lands a punch on Blaine's eyes and one in his solar plexus before Blaine fights back. It doesn't last long – they were both trained by Sue but Blaine had much more of it, and he has a significant muscle and weight advantage. He quickly knocks Quinn out, and then before he heads back to Pride Rock he lies her carefully and conspicuously on the ground.

He pushes his body to its limits so he doesn't have to think or remember, his feet drumming a rhythm of _Kurt-Kurt-Kurt-Kurt-Kurt_ into the forest floor that reverberates throughout his body.

Would Cooper still be alive if Blaine hadn't run away? Would he still be alive if Blaine hadn't snuck away from the camp all those years ago? Or if Blaine had done his job in the first place, or if he hadn't fallen in love with Kurt, or if he hadn't been seduced by the unexpected acceptance and homeliness of Pride Rock?

The outskirts of the village are barren, but Blaine can hear a crowd just a few streets over – it is a small village, after all. Blaine slows to a walk. His skin is cold and too tight and he clenches his hands into fists to try and stop them from shaking. Mostly, his skin just starts sticking to itself.

He's spotted almost the moment he turns the corner. Silence ripples through the crowd. Blaine feels their eyes on him like daggers and walking forward feels like walking through the river. People – people who he'd been starting to know – part in front of him, and he hears the occasional murmur, but he keeps his head up and looks straight ahead. Chief Hummel looks furious. Puck, Shannon, Brittany, Lauren all look betrayed. Kurt is being held back by his guards but when he looks at Blaine there's no fury in his eyes.

"Why did you come back?" Chief asks.

"To explain – I never – I didn't have anything to do with—"

"Enough!" Chief meets Blaine's eyes. They are as hard as the stone behind him, and the last of Blaine's hope dies. "When I allowed you into my village, I gave you a chance. And you've had it."

"Please—!"

"Dad!"

"Once a Sylvester, always a Sylvester. Exile!"

Blaine goes numb, indistinctly aware of Kurt fighting and shouting behind him, of the jeers of the villagers as he turns and runs. Most of them move back when he comes close. A few of them shove him, but even as he stumbles and grazes his hands and legs he keeps on going.

He should have known better than to hope, but this is probably for the best anyway. He's not loyal enough to his mother, not strong enough to save his brother, not good enough for Chief Hummel. What ever made him think he could be with Kurt, who shines brighter than the sun?

The echoes of his disgrace ring in his ears as he disappears into the blissfully silent forest.


	6. Love Will Find a Way (or, Faith)

Kurt tries to throw himself forward to chase after Blaine, but every time he's met with Noah or Shannon herding him into his room like he's four years old, his dad trailing after them with his face grave.

"Kurt—"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE LET HIM EXPLAIN!"

His father and guards look stunned by his outburst. Kurt doesn't care, just like he doesn't care about the tears soaking his cheeks or his heart trying to beat out his chest or the way his hands won't stop shaking.

"Didn't you see his face?" he continues at a lower pitch, but no less tremulous.

"Kurt," Burt sighs. "Sue and her followers knew exactly where—"

"They could have been stalking him! You said it yourself, Sue—"

"Kurt, that's enough!" Kurt's jaw snaps closed but his shoulders move with the force of his tears, and he glares at his father. "I know you liked him but the fact of the matter is, Blaine is a Sylvester, and he was using you to get to me." Burt nods at Kurt's guards and continues, "Puck and Shannon are going to make sure you stay here while I organise a retaliation. I'm serious, Kurt – don't leave the house."

Burt leaves. As the front door closes, Kurt lets out a sob and runs up to his bedroom, slamming the door closed behind him. He screams and cries into his pillow, heart aching because he knows, he knows Blaine is innocent even if his original intentions had been impure, he knows because he saw the lost desperation in Blaine's eyes.

Burt's voice and the villager's responses echoes up from the square and through Kurt's window, organising a plan of attack for the next morning and security measures in case Sue and her people come overnight, and it's not until the square falls silent that Kurt can finally stop crying.

He lies listlessly in bed for a while, staring out his skylight. It feels like a long time and the sky has started to darken when he sits up suddenly, struck by the desire to find Blaine.

If Blaine can't come to Pride Rock, Kurt will just have to go to him. It won't be forever – just long enough for his father to calm down, and then Blaine can be accepted back into the village. But Kurt can't live without Blaine, not now he's known what it's like to have him.

He doesn't know how long he'll be left alone now the preparations for tomorrow have begun so, as quickly and quietly as possible, he throws some spare changes of clothes and a photograph of himself and his parents when his mother was still alive into a small rucksack. Ideally, he would be able to grab some of Blaine's clothes from his room down the hall, or he'd be able to sneak into the kitchen to take some food or a water bag, but he daren't risk running into anyone.

Once his bag is packed, Kurt pokes his head out his window. There are people in the streets and, since it's not quite dark yet, they'll notice him if they look up, but he can't wait any longer – Blaine will be difficult enough to find as it is.

Fortunately, Kurt has made this journey across the rooftops many times. He's sure-footed and quiet and practiced at sneaking around, so he manages to make it to the outskirts of the village unseen. He creeps around the edge to the area Blaine would have left and quickly spots the trampled undergrowth and bent leaves which signal Blaine's route.

It's difficult not to start crying again – he's an easy crier, which hasn't earned him any favours with the likes of Azimio and David, but Burt has never given him any grief about not being 'man enough' – but there is a time and a place and now is neither, and so without a single glance backwards he follows Blaine's trail into the forest.

For the first few miles, he's not difficult to track. There are obvious markers, some of the dirt kicked up or the top layer knocked off as if Blaine tripped, a few small wet smears Kurt doesn't want to think too hard about. Then Blaine seems to have regained his head and light footing and the signs are much harder to find.

Not that it matters. By now, Kurt's figured out that Blaine is – or was – heading to the stream, probably to the area they first met, or maybe where they came out from the fire, although Kurt doesn't remember the exact spots.

When he exits through the trees to the water edge, he takes a moment to orient himself, and then follows the direction of the current. He's closer to the burned forest but he doubts Blaine will want to go back there, so he runs swiftly along the bank, keeping an eye out for any sign of Blaine, and slows back down to a walk when he hits the rapids.

"Blaine!" he calls over the water. The forest doesn't answer. He keeps going, determined to follow the river to its end if it'll mean he finds Blaine.

But he doesn't need to go that far. Minutes later, he follows a bend in the water and there is Blaine, curled up by the edge and staring blankly into then steam. Kurt gasps his name, immediately starting to cry again, and by the time Blaine seems to have registered and looked up Kurt's already throwing himself forward. They both topple to the ground, Blaine's grip gradually going from slack to crushingly tight against his back while Kurt clutches the other man to him from the very start. He gasps Blaine's name as he tries to control his tears, and Blaine murmurs his name a couple of times as if he doesn't quite believe he's here.

But he is. Kurt's here and Blaine's here, and they're _together_ , and Kurt will be damned if they're ever apart again.

*

They don't stop touching each other as Blaine tells Kurt the whole story. He tries to pull away when he gets to the part about killing Kurt's family and, although it hurts Kurt to hear and he's so tempted to let Blaine go, but instead he just holds him closer and presses a kiss to his temple and whispers, "I forgive you."

Blaine breaks down into tears, and Kurt frantically starts to apologise until Blaine interrupts with a shout: "I'm a murderer!" There's a moment of stillness, and then he repeats, "I'm a murderer, Kurt, I killed my brother, it's my fault he's dead, and I almost killed your dad—"

"Blaine," Kurt shushes. "Blaine, look at me. What happened with your brother?" Blaine tells him, and Kurt shakes his head. "You're not a murderer, love, you're not. Your brother died because of his own actions," he says gently, "or maybe Sue's, if you want to transfer blame because any of this only happened because of her, but it is absolutely not your fault. Okay?"

"Kurt," Blaine mumbles, and then he rocks upwards, cupping Kurt's face in both hands as he gives him a searing kiss. "Run away with me," he says against his lips. "We can start over – in the forest or another village or a town, just please stay with me."

"I'm never saying goodbye to you," Kurt promises. He pulls Blaine closer so their chests are pressed together and kisses him again but then pulls back hesitantly. "But Blaine . . ."

Blaine looks up at him with wide, anxious eyes.

"I don't think we should run away," he says, rushed so Blaine has to listen to his reasoning before outright rejecting him. "If we do, it'll only make the feud between our people stronger. I think us going back might actually make things _better_. If our villages see how happy we are, maybe they'll think about resolving their own differences, and maybe even Sue will change her mind." He doubts it, and so does Blaine by the look on his face, but no matter how remote it's still a possibility. "Plus," he adds in a low voice, "the thought of never seeing my dad again . . ."

Blaine sighs, resigned. "All right," he says.

Kurt gives him a small smile and kisses him quickly. "I promise, if the worst comes to the worst, we'll run away and find somewhere for only us."

"I love you," Blaine says, his voice quiet but his eyes shining strong. Kurt swallows his rush of emotions.

"I love you too."

*

They sleep lightly, with their limbs wrapped around each other, and wake and start walking before the sun has even begun to properly rise. They don't talk much but Blaine can't help but reach out to touch Kurt, to run a hand along his arm or kiss his cheek or place a hand on his back, and Kurt smiles back at him every time. It's peaceful in a way Blaine has never known.

However, his internal peace is shattered when, as they move away from the river, sounds of shouts and screams and metal hitting metal reaches them. Instinct makes Blaine run forward, love and loyalty make him chase after Kurt, and fear and adrenalin make his blood pound cold.

Nothing could have prepared him for this, not even Sue's rigorous training: people he grew up with tangled in arms with people he'd come to know; Mike, his best friend, a shallow slice across his cheek and bruises and his mouth set in a hard line; the woman who'd raised him, no matter how poorly, revelling at the edge of the chaos and the man who'd raised the love of his life fighting like a warrior.

Blaine doesn't know how he'd ever thought of the Hummels as evil tyrants, but he doesn't think he'll ever be able to think of Sue that way.

"Out of the way!" Sue shouts, and as she moves forward, the individual fights around her cease. "Hummel's mine!"

Kurt darts forward and Blaine matches him stride for stride, and they stand between their parents. Blaine can hear Burt berating Kurt behind him, but most of his focus is on Sue and the steadying warmth of Kurt by his side.

"Get out of the way, mongrel," she snarls at him.

"No."

"You're even weaker than I thought! Selling yourself out for food and clean water, a plaything in return for comfort."

Two days ago – hell, even yesterday – that might have made Blaine doubt himself and doubt Kurt – but today he's stronger. His heart is in Kurt's hands, and he knows Kurt's heart is in his own hands.

"I won't let you harm Kurt," he says, drawing himself up taller. He still barely reaches Sue's shoulders but it's enough to make his point, and Sue narrows her eyes at him. "Or his father."

"So be it. Quinn, attack!"

But the girl – and she has a lump on her forehead that sends guilt creeping through Blaine's stomach – isn't paying attention to Sue. She's staring at Kurt's back, her jaw a little slack, and Blaine starts paying attention in time to hear Kurt wrapping up what sounds like a revision of his speech from last night.

"Quinn!" Sue snaps.

"No," she says, looking as surprised but determined as Blaine feels. "He's right, Sue. This fighting has gone on long enough."

As she walks to stand behind Chief Hummel, her eyes meet Blaine's. They look suspiciously bright, and Blaine knows she's sorry for what she said to him about his brother. He nods in acknowledgement. They can talk later, after their fates have been decided.

"Then you will die as well," Sue snarls, even as the Outsiders move forward. Mike is in the lead, and Blaine smiles at him widely, feeling a little emotional, and Mike smiles bashfully in return. Sue sputters and angrily demands them to return to her side, but Burt steps around the boys and says, "It's over, Sue."

"No!" she shouts. "This land belongs to _me_!"

Because Blaine has spent the last eight years being almost constantly trained by Sue, he recognises the shift in her stance and the way her muscles bunch and relax. It's how she looked just before she knocked him to the ground with her hand resting lightly on his neck.

He lunges forward at almost the same moment, catching her around her waist midway through her leap. Their momentum keeps them rolling, and he hears Kurt scream his name when they tumble off the edge of the riverbank and into the water.

He hasn't been this far west in a long time, and he'd forgotten both how strong and how deep the water is here, grown from the easy-going stream and short rapids to a force he can barely fight against, especially with Sue still attached to him.

When he breaks the surface, he sucks in a ragged gasp and hears a deep voice shout, and then he's pulled back under. By Sue or the current, he can't tell, and he's more concerned about his lungs burning than trying to figure it out.

Then there are arms – familiar, strong, loving – wrapped around his body. A jerk, and he's loosened from another grip. Panic, and he struggles mindlessly.

And then he's once again above the surface, and on the bank, and alternately retching up water and letting out helpless sobs. As his pulse settles and the stark fear fades, he becomes aware of a large hand soothing his back and someone holding his hand tight enough to cut off the circulation and Kurt's voice apologising, high and hitching.

With the hand on his back simultaneously helping Blaine cough up the last of the water and soothe his lungs, it doesn't take Blaine long to calm down. He looks up. Everyone – his friends, his peers, people he doesn't know from both villages – is staring at him, some of them sceptical but all with some degree of concern.

"Where's Sue?" he asks, his voice rough.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine," Kurt says. "I tried, I tried to save her too but she just kept pulling you under and – and she wouldn't let anyone touch her and it was so hard to keep hold of you and – Blaine, I am so, so sorry."

She's gone. Cold, murdering, lying dictator or not, she was for all intents and purposes his mother, and now Blaine has no family left at all.

"You all right, kid?"

Blaine blinks back into focus and looks at Burt, the owner of the hand on his back. Blaine swallows back his rush of tears and nods. He wants to say – something – thank you, maybe – but the naked worry and sympathy in Burt's eyes, and no sight of the anger and betrayal from the village, makes him forget how to speak.

"Come on," he says. He stands up and Kurt follows suit, and both men help Blaine to his feet. Kurt wraps an arm around his waist to hold him steady and Burt doesn't let go of Blaine's arm until he's sure he won't fall over. "Let's go home."

Kurt's smile is blinding. Mike looks like he's holding back tears. Burt's expression is open and welcoming, to all the once-Outsiders.

 _Home,_ Blaine thinks, resting his head on Kurt's shoulder, eyes closed and smiling. _That sounds nice._

 

**And they live happily ever after.**

**The end.**


End file.
